Litsa Kranias, PhD (pictured, left), Hanna Chair of Cardiology and professor, Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology, Rhett Kovall, PhD (pictured, center), professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, and Jeffrey Schlaudecker, MD (pictured, right), Kautz Family Endowed Chair of Geriatric Medical Education and associate professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, have been named as the 2023 Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring awardees.

Kranias received the Provost/Vice President for Research Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award while Kovall received the College of Medicine Basic Science Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award and Schlaudecker received the College of Medicine Clinical Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award.

Mentoring among faculty at the College of Medicine is a crucial element in sustaining a vital faculty community, promoting faculty development and increasing faculty retention. The purpose of the Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Award is to recognize the outstanding efforts of faculty for their mentorship of other faculty. These prestigious awards acknowledge the time sacrifice and dedication faculty mentors devote to foster the career development and academic success of colleagues in the areas of research, education, service and clinical practice.

The UC Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST) has named four new K Scholars (KL2 and CT2) for 2023. The scholars, with the names of their research projects funded through the program and their primary project mentors, are:

• Chidiogo Anyigbo, MD (pictured, top left), assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics, “Socio-contextual Influences of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health,” Robert Kahn, MD, and Robert Ammerman, PhD, both professors, Department of Pediatrics
• Shinsmon Jose, PhD (pictured, top right), instructor, Department of Internal Medicine, “Targeted Drug Delivery to Limit Luminal Neutrophils in C.difficile Infection,” Rajat Madan, MD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
• Meera Kotagal, MD (pictured, bottom left), assistant professor, Department of Surgery, “Community-engaged Approach to Addressing Child Injury,” Richard Falcone, MD, professor, Department of Surgery 
• Katie Phillips, MD (pictured, bottom right), assistant professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, “Translateral Endotyping of Chronic Rhinosinusitis,” Gurjit Khurana-Hershey, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Pediatrics

Charles Doarn, director of UC’s Space Research Institute for Discovery and Exploration (SRIDE) and professor in the Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, was recognized March 5 by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) with its annual CEO Award for his exemplary work in the field of telemedicine and telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Doarn has served as editor-in-chief of the journal Telemedicine and e-Health, the official journal of the ATA, for 18 years. During the public health crisis, Doarn oversaw a two-fold increase in submissions to the journal from around the world, which also helped double the journal’s impact factor. He also has contributed to the science of public health as both editor and co-chair of the ATA’s research committee. He has published extensively with more than 425 manuscripts, book chapters, editorials and federal reports and edited a number of books on telemedicine and telehealth as well as space physiology and medicine, and mishap investigations of spacecraft.

Additionally, Doarn has travelled to more than 35 countries where he has worked with a wide range of political leaders and medical personnel. He serves as the co-chair of the U.S. government’s Federal Telehealth Working Group and is on loan to NASA’s Chief Health and Medical Office in Washington, DC. Doarn also established one of the nation’s first Telehealth Certificate Programs, a collaborative effort between the colleges of Medicine and Nursing.

The Cincinnati Business Courier recently released its annual listing of largest physician groups in the region, with UC Physicians at the top of the list with more than 1,100 providers spanning 93 specialty and subspecialty groups. As a supplement to the newspaper’s list, the Business Courier included an executive profile of Michael Archdeacon, MD, chief executive officer of UC Physicians. Archdeacon also is senior associate dean of clinical affairs, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and holds the Peter J. Stern Endowed Chair.



>> Read the profile

Fifty-five College of Medicine students, faculty, residents, fellows and alumni were inducted March 8 into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. A lifelong honor, membership in the society confers recognition for a physician’s dedication to the profession and art of healing. Estrelita Dixon, MD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, is councilor for the college’s chapter.

Class of 2023 inductees were: Nicole Bardakos, William Baumel, Leah Beck, John Bonamer, Rebecca Carr, Abigail Crothers, Anna Deems, Andrew Emmert, Emil Espinal Nunez, Laura Felix, Caroline Folz, Austin Foote, Michael Frankland, Gabriel Gonzalez, Justin Heidel, Zofia Hetman, Elise Hogan, Maria Hooker, Jeremy Housekeeper, Jared Iding, Teresa Keiser, Olivia Kerekes, Shelby Kitchin, Sarah Kopp, Andrew Krueger, Dakota Lipps, Isabella Liu, Stefan Marasligiller, Jocelyn Meyer, Chelsey Miller, Rahul Sandella, Chase Steele, Seth Thomas and John Wilson.

Faculty members inducted were: Khurram Bari, MD, associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases; Justin Benoit, MD, associate professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; Seetharam Chadalavada, MD, associate professor, Department of Radiology; Louito Edje, MD, associate dean for graduate medical education and professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Arun Jose, MD, assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulomnary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Sameer Patel, MD, associate professor, Department of Surgery; Courtney Plattner, MD, assistant professor, Department of Surgery; and Abid Yaqub, MD, professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

Residents and fellows inducted were: Eileen Donovan, MD, Class of 2017, Department of Surgery; Daniela Elias, MD, Department of Pediatrics; Rinki Goswami, MD, Department of Internal Medicine; Victoria Heasley, MD, Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine; John Kennedy, MD, Department of Surgery; Derek Kwakye, MD, Class of 2020, Department of Internal Medicine; Shiming Luo, MD, Department of Ophthalmology; Jorgen Madsen, MD, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Christen Salyer, MD, Department of Surgery; Michal Trope, MD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; Stephanie Wey, MD, Department of Ophthalmology; and Alexandra Willauer, MD, Department of Internal Medicine.

James Osher, MD, Class of 2008, associate professor, Department of Ophthalmology, was inducted as an alumnus. 

It was more than just a dream to go to medical school for two College of Medicine students. Their years of medical outreach and work as a first responder are what led to a passion for making an impact on the lives of people in need. But both William Smith, Class of 2024 (pictured, right), and Minh Nguyen, Class of 2025 (pictured, left), say their dreams of attending medical school would not have been possible without the financial support of the IvaDean Medical Student Scholarship.

The IvaDean Scholarship—named in tribute to IvaDean Lair for her profound influence on medical students while working in the dean's office for more than 50 years—is awarded to exceptional students each year who show great potential and promise as future medical professionals. Since its inception, the IvaDean Scholarship has helped more than 240 students reach their goals of pursuing a medical career in education, research or administration.

As children of immigrant parents, both Smith and Nguyen learned early about the challenges of growing up as a minority in America while building their desire to help people. But interestingly, they each developed a fondness for medicine in different ways.

>> Read more about Smith and Nguyen

>> Make a gift to the IvaDean Medical Student Scholarship Fund

Several College of Medicine faculty and staff who died during 2022 were among those honored during the university’s 2023 Memorial Service on March 7. Among 34 students, faculty and staff for whom remembrances of their lives were read by colleagues, faculty and friends were: Timothy Freeman, MD, Class of 1984, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Kristy Girten, Department of Internal Medicine; Daniel Hassett, PhD, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences; Sid Khosla, MD, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; Ling Xiong Kong, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Digestive Diseases; Dario Rodriquez, Department of Surgery; James Tweddell, MD, Class of 1985, Department of Surgery; and Hector Wong, MD, Department of Pediatrics were

>> View the 2023 Memorial Service online

The UC Alumni Association is hosting “Bearcats/Health: Celebrating Women in Healthcare” on Thursday, March 23. The event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, 35 West 5th St.

The event will recognize the incredible service and leadership by alumnae and partners in health care during an evening of networking with fellow health care practitioners. There also will be four brief presentations by Danielle Clark, MD, assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine; Kersha Deibel, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio; Felicia Beckham, a family nurse practitioner and president of Cincinnati’s Black Nurse Practitioner Network; and Mimi Hart, co-owner and retired chief executive officer of Hart Pharmacy.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served. All are welcome.

>> RSVP for “Celebrating Women in Healthcare” by March 17

The College of Medicine’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Oversight Committee is seeking faculty and student representatives to join the committee.

The CQI Oversight Committee is chaired by Brett Kissela, MD, executive vice dean and Albert Barnes Voorheis Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, and includes members of the Dean’s Office, Admissions, Operations and Finance, Medical Education, Faculty Affairs, Graduate Medical Education and Student Affairs. The committee is part of the college’s reaccreditation efforts through the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), which occurs in 2027. During the next year the committee will review all LCME standards and elements to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement for the college’s self-study process during the 2026-2027 academic year.

>> Those interested in joining the CQI Oversight Committee should complete this online form by Friday, March 31

The Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency (HCEMA) is conducting a study to better understand the preparedness needs and risk perceptions of its residents as part of the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan update process. Everyone living in Hamilton County or working in the county is welcome to take the 10-minute survey. The survey is anonymous and will assist HCEMA with their five-year update of the Hamilton County Threat Hazard Identification Risk Assessment last completed in 2018. 

>> Take the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency survey